It was sunny and brisk (55 degrees?), with lots of people feeding the ducks, geese, and coots. Of course, it's sooooo brisk that there was the ubiquitous guy wearing his knit cap. 55. Brrrrr... Strangely, the woman with him was wearing shorts, a huge coat, and a visor. Ready to play tennis at the arctic circle? By the way, both knit caps and visors are lame. Only wear them at the appropriate times. There's an appropriate time for the knit cap, but visors are always lame.
I love having a market right here. I make little trips; buy just enough to carry home in two hands, and as a result, never really throw anything out because I never buy too much. Nice.
Unfortunately, I grabbed a cart this time. I needed someplace to set my coffee while I shopped. So, I forgot that I walked and ended up with a bit more than I'd like to carry home. It was like doing farmer's walks, but with my fingertips feeling like they are about to be sliced off by the plastic bag handles. That will teach me to buy soda...
I lumbered back through the beautifully charming, yet barren, empty wasteland of the lake's shopping and dining area, and back down the the lake.
The RSM lake is obviously a real lake, but it's man-made.All of the turtles and fish have been added by man, as well.
The birds flew in and never really leave. This is supposed to be the South part of "flying South for the winter," but the reality seems to be that they come and never leave.
Today, though, there was one migratory bird at the lake. A snowy egret.
This is just a pic of a snowy egret, not the one at my lake...
That's really all the update I've got. Bread's baking. I made just enough for the kids to eat. I want no part of it.
Olive Oil Bread
pinch of granulated sugar
1 cup of warm water
1 package (scant tablespoon) yeast
3 cups/360g whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt or coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil for finishing
additional coarse salt (kosher or pretzel salt) for finishing
The Bread
Stir oil, water, and yeast together and let stand for 5 minutes or so. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Add liquid mixture to flour. Mix until dough comes together. Turn dough onto a flat, lightly floured surface and kneed to about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl. Turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place for 30 to 40 minutes or until doubled.
After the dough has doubled, punch down and form into one or two loaves. Using a sharp knife, cut diagonal cuts into top of loaf, forming a diamond pattern. Brush tops generously with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Pre-heat oven to 450°
Let loaves rise in warm place for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until doubled again.
Bake 20 to 30 minutes until golden. Loaves should sound hollow when tapped.
Remove loaves from oven and cool on wire racks.
Bread Machine Option
If you'd like to use your bread machine for the dough, follow these directions. Don't actually bake the bread in the machine, though. Just make the dough in there.
Place water, oil, and yeast into bread machine. Stir salt and flour together and add it to the machine. Start dough only cycle. When dough cycle is complete (this is typically after one rising), punch the dough down if your machine doesn't do it automatically.
Form dough into one or two loaves. Using a sharp knife, cut diagonal cuts into top of loaf, forming a diamond pattern. Brush tops generously with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Pre-heat oven to 450°
Let loaves rise in warm place for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until doubled again.
Bake 20 to 30 minutes until golden. Loaves should sound hollow when tapped.
Remove loaves from oven and cool on wire racks.
I wore a Nike dri-fit visor to golf yesterday... allowed? It was trendy, I promise.
ReplyDeleteAnd hopefully RedWifey will give that bread a try soon. Carbs rule.
I'll cut you some slack because you were actually playing golf and don't need to be sexy. Tennis would have been safe, too. I suppose...
ReplyDelete